Former Brewers top prospect Lewis Brinson (right), whom the Marlins acquired in the off-season in a trade that sent Christian Yelich to Milwaukee, celebrates with teammate Cameron Maybin after hitting a two-run shot in the fifth inning on Thursday. It was Brinson's second homer of the night, and he drove in all of Miami's runs in the game.
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It was probably no coincidence that for the first time since April 4, the Brewers had Cain and Christian Yelich, their big off-season acquisitions, atop the lineup. Yelich missed nearly two weeks with an oblique strain and when he returned on Wednesday, Cain had the day off.

Yelich had a modest night with a walk and single but his presence with Cain atop the order makes the offense much deeper and dangerous.

"Those guys are two very good hitters," said Jesus Aguilar, who did his part with two doubles, a single and three runs batted in. "Especially having Yelich in there, he's a lefty hitter who makes a lot of contact and gets on base a lot. That's big for the offense."

As has been the case so often over the past 11 years, Ryan Braun played a big role in the breakthrough, and he wasn't even in the starting lineup while resting an ailing right calf muscle. Braun came off the bench in the big sixth-inning rally and belted a three-run homer, giving him an even 1,000 RBI for his career.

"It's a cool number; it's a special number, for sure," Braun said. "I've said many times the biggest challenge in this game is longevity and consistency. You can't get to a number like that unless you've played for a while and had a lot of success.

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"It also speaks to being fortunate to be on a lot of good offensive teams. It's a result of having really good teammates, getting a ton of opportunities. The first five or six years, I had Prince Fielder batting behind me, so people never wanted to walk me to get to him. So, you're just given a lot of opportunity."

As for reaching the milestone coming cold off the bench, Braun said, "It's always hard. When you're not starting a game, you're trying to figure out a routine that puts you in an optimal position to be successful. That routine is a little different for everybody. You just try to stay loose, stay prepared and have a plan when you do get an opportunity.

"You're able to enjoy it a little more (with a homer) than a broken-bat, ground out or something like that. So, it was definitely a cool way to accomplish a pretty special number."

The Brewers have been trying to get somebody other than Eric Thames going at the plate, and this perhaps was the start of something. Beyond the 13 hits, the Brewers drew seven walks, three by Travis Shaw, and kept the pressure on Miami's pitchers from the outset.

"We've been looking for an opportunity to break out as a group," Braun said. "Today was the first game we've had like that, probably all season. The last day in San Diego, we swung the bats OK but this was the first day it was really a collective effort. Sometimes, you just need one day like this to get everybody going."

Trying to rain on the Brewers' hit parade was Lewis Brinson, who seemed intent on showing his former club that it shouldn't have included him in the Yelich trade in January. Brinson hit town with no extra-base hits for the season but pounded home runs on mistake pitches in his first two at-bats against Chase Anderson.

"My approach was good tonight," Brinson said. "I came back to a place I played last year and had a little bit of a chip on my shoulder. I wish we could have gotten the win but it feels good. I was in a good place tonight and hopefully I can keep it going.

"I hadn't hit a ball hard like that in a while. Everybody knew it and so did I. It felt good."

Anderson, who held the Marlins in check other than the Brinson homers, tipped his cap to the young outfielder for not letting him get away with bad pitches. The Brewers' starter then turned his attention to the real story — the Brewers' offense finally keeping the line moving.

"Today is more about, not what I did, but what the offense did," Anderson said. "They picked me up. I'm happy for those guys. It definitely makes my job easier. That's what these team is about. We pick each other up."

It had been a while since the hitters picked up the pitchers. On this night, it was worth the wait.